Kate has been putting "duty before self" over the past few years and embraced the royal tradition to spend Christmas with the Queen and her family at Sandringham, a royal author said. While this may be seen as a "sacrifice" made by the future Queen Consort, it allows her three beloved children to celebrate Christmas twice, commentator Katie Nicholl noted.

       She told OK! magazine: "In the early years of being a family, they did try to alternate Christmas, one year with The Queen and the Royal Family and the next year with the Middletons, but Kate and William put duty before self and we can see that, more now than ever.

       "So there is a sacrifice on Kate's part because Christmas is a very big thing for the Middleton family, but they put The Queen first and make sure they are there on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Sandringham.

       "But, it's probably a lot of fun for the Cambridge children that they get to celebrate Christmas twice - once with their great-grandmother and the Royal Family and then again with the Middletons at their Bucklebury home."

       Kate officially joined the Royal Family in April 2011, following her nuptials with Prince William.

       Since becoming the Duchess of Cambridge, she has spent only two Christmas Days with the Middletons gathered in Berkshire.

       As a married couple, Kate and William first joined the Middletons for Christmas in 2012, just a few weeks after the palace had announced Kate's first pregnancy.

       At the time, she was suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, severe morning sickness.

       The last time the Cambridges chose to spend the festivities with Carole and Michael Middleton - as well as Kate's siblings Pippa and James - was in 2016.

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       At the time, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were not fully dedicated to royal duties, with Prince William working as an air ambulance pilot at the East Anglia Air Ambulance (EAAA).

       The Duke fully committed to royal work in the summer of 2017, when he quit his job as a frontline worker and became a full-time working member of the Firm.

       While it is not yet known if the Queen will host her family at Sandringham House this year, Kate's mother has already offered a glimpse of how she will delight her grandchildren during these festivities.

       Mrs Middleton's company, Party Pieces, published in late November a picture of two gonks - figurines inspired by gnomes - on its Instagram account alongside a remark made by Kate's mother.

       Quoting Mrs Middleton, the picture caption read: "I’m going to need a few of these cheeky chaps this December, to hide around the house and make my grandchildren laugh.

       "As much as I love immaculate decorations, we can’t be too serious at Christmas!"

       Kate's mother also revealed in November 2020 she normally let her grandchildren help her decorate the Christmas tree.

       As they could not meet in person due to the Covid restriction in place last winter, Mrs Middleton said she was planning to let her grandchildren decide which decoration should go where during a video call.

       On top of George, Charlotte and Louis, Mrs Middleton can also count Pippa and James Matthews's two children among her grandsons and granddaughters.

       The Queen has been celebrating Christmas at Sandringham for the past three decades - with the exception of 2020, when she self-isolated at Windsor Castle with Prince Philip.

       Royals normally arrive during the afternoon of Christmas Eve, when the Windsors exchange their Christmas presents.

       This is because the royals still follow the German tradition of opening gifts on December 24 rather than December 25.

       The Duchess of Cambridge previously spoke about her concerns over what to give to the Queen in the run-up to her first Christmas at Sandringham.

       Appearing on the 2016 ITV documentary Our Queen at Ninety, Kate said: "I can remember being at Sandringham, for the first time, at Christmas.

       "And I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas present. I was thinking, 'Gosh, what should I give her?'"

       Royals are believed to give one another inexpensive and sometimes silly presents at Christmas.

       Kate decided to make her grandmother's recipe of chutney as a Christmas gift for the Queen.

       She added: "I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table. I think such a simple gesture went such a long way for me and I've noticed since she's done that on lots of occasions and I think it just shows her thoughtfulness, really, and her care in looking after everybody."